Hogwarts Roleplay

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She was just trying to remember what exactly her Potions essay was on when Nofalo's voice broke into her thoughts and his arm swooped around her shoulders. Lifting her gaze to stare around the hall for a moment, she puffed and smirked at him. Giving a sudden shrug, she watched with amusement as he slid along the bench back towards his spot. Sticking her tongue out in response, she glanced to her empty plate, thoughts filtering back in. However, the Slytherin fifth-year didn't let the silence last, and Eevana curiously turned back to him. She had to admit that running around in fresh snow sounded grand. A slight smile lit her face as she turned her body full to face him, brushing back her long braid. "I suppose a break would be nice," She murmured in an airy tone, as if she had trouble deciding. Nofalo rolled his eyes at her, but he was still smiling. She grabbed her bag and slung it over her narrow shoulders, preparing to lift herself off the bench. "Meet you in the entrance hall in ten minutes?" She chirped, eagerly rising to her feet. She wanted to drop off her schoolbag in the dormitory and grab a winter robe, scarf, and gloves. Maybe a hat too. "You're on," Nofalo answered with a smirk, as if making it into a race. "On your mark, get set, go!" With that, the pair took off, out of the Great Hall and to their respective dormitories.

Eevana scrambled up the steps to the girls' dormitories, winding around til she reached the door with the plaque that read "Fifth-Years". Panting, she pushed the door open, pleased to see the room of beds deserted. The common room had been pretty full, although she suspected she and Nofalo weren't going to be the only students outside. It wasn't quite dark yet, and even when it did get dark, Hogwarts' gorgeous Christmas lights kept things active for some time. The petite girl slung her bag onto her bed, deciding to organize later. Hurriedly she rushed to her dresser, yanking open the top drawer and grabbing her Ravenclaw-themed scarf, hat, and gloves. Exchanging her school-time robe for a fleece-lined winter one, she tucked her scarf in and pulled the hat over her head. It was a little big on her, so she folded the rim up. Carefully, she tucked her wand into the inner pocket, grabbed her gloves, and scurried back to the common room. She gave a few waves to a couple of the people she knew before exiting and racing down the tower stairs. With a slight grin, she hopped to one side and pulled out her wand. She tapped the nearest statue. A small gap opened and she entered. If she remembered correctly, this would take her close to her destination; hopefully quicker.

[ wHOO YEAH MAKIN' THINGS UP ALL OVER THE PLACE ] 

Nofalo broke apart from his friend as they raced out of the Great Hall and she headed towards Ravenclaw Tower, while his destination was the Dungeons. Several times Nofalo almost slipped on the slimy, damp stones of the depths of the castle, but he managed to scramble on with a smile still plastered on his face. As he neared the common room, he slowed, not wanting to be called out for a teasing by the Nothrop twins for the thousandth time for something inhumanely stupid. The Slytherin boy made it up to the fifth-year boys' dormitories, and threw his bag off his shoulder against the foot of his bed, scavenging through his trunk for his winter robes, gloves, green Slytherin scarf, and black beanie with a green stripe and a tiny Slytherin crest. Nofalo slipped off his school robes messily on his bed, donning his warmer ones and sliding his wand inside the inner pocket as he threw his scarf hurriedly around his neck. Resorting to fumbling with his gloves and hat on his way to meet Eevana, the boy made his way out of the dormitories. He couldn't help a smile from spreading on his face as he stepped down out of the common room, excited to see her again and to see the snow. Just as he turned the corner, gloves halfway on, a stout body with an ugly, flat face attached stepped in his way, shadowed by a tall, thin-faced body to match. The Nothrop twins. Of course. Nofalo's smile faded just like that. "Whatcha smilin' bout, ugly?" Joffrey's breath smelt like stale fish and his small eyes glittered with the light of his giant ego. "Goin off to meet your boyfriend, have a shag in the snow? I hope your balls freeze off, if you have any" the other boy cackled an ugly laugh, his sister Melisandre joining in in her high-pitched chortle. Nofalo glowered, "Why? Jealous?" and smirked at the incredulous, angry twist to Joffrey Nothrop's face at his words. Just as the bully's brain realised that maybe it was time to punch Nofalo, the scarred Slytherin ducked underneath the poorly-aimed blow and sauntered off before they could so much as turn around to see the bottoms of his robes disappearing around the corner. Joffrey was even slower today than he usually is. He could smell the alcohol on the other boy's breath, so that must've been why. Nofalo knew he was in for it later, for what he'd said, but for now he put that out of his mind. All thoughts of Joffrey and Melisandre wiped from his mind, Nofalo trotted a bit faster in hopes that he would arrive at their meeting place before Eevana.

As he turned the last corner, he saw that she had just barely made it there before him, just now leaning against a nearby pillar. She probably cheated again, he thought with a smirk, remembering their shortcuts that they'd learned. He'd completely forgotten, what with being confronted by the twins again. Nofalo raised a hand and called to her as he neared, then realised he'd put his glove on backwards so he messily fixed it as he paused beside her. He felt hands reach up towards his neck as Eevana straightened his scarf for him, tucking it into his robes. Pretending his blush was from the cold, Nofalo smiled at her, and asked a bit breathlessly from his hurry, "Ready?"

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The fifth-year hunched over as she stepped out of the passageway, satisfaction flooding her as she realized where she was. Hah, she'd remembered right. Had she won? She glanced around, leaning back against the pillar. There he was! So she had beaten him - only by a minute or so, but still. She pranced towards him, smug, and returned the light greeting with a wave of her hand and a broad smile. As he paused next to her, she bounced on her toes, reaching to fix his messily-wrapped scarf. Drawing back her pale fingers, she then donned her own gloves and gave another eager nod. "Yes!" She took in a great breath, then turned and approached the door. With a careful tug, she drew it open, and stepped out onto the cobbled steps. Seeing the snow added to her excitement, and she scampered down, leaping into the white powder with much glee. She glanced back up for her friend, and stomped through the snow, pleased to see that it seemed good for building. The Ravenclaw girl bent down and scuffed at the snow, feeling it for a moment to fully determine the consistency. She grabbed a handful and made it into a small sphere, then tossed it out towards the grounds. There were a few other students here and there, building and bewitching snowballs to fly around and even sledding down some of the steeper parts. Joyful, she turned around to find Nofalo.

He watched her, smiling, as she tested the snow. He stepped down to follow her as she turned to look at him, and he joined her in the white fluff covering the ground. It was nearly perfect packing snow. He knelt down, carving out some of the snow to hold in his hand. He crushed it with his other, forming a thin sphere. Smoothing the edges, he glanced over to where Eevana was. She too was squatted nearby. With a smirk, he stalked towards her as quietly as he could, snow crunching under his feet. She seemed busy gathering her own snow. Just as he raised his arm to fling his snowball at her, she suddenly turned and he narrowly avoided the snowball aimed for his face. He barely had a moment to laugh before he felt hands against his chest, giving him a sharp push. Nofalo stumbled back, tripping over a snow drift, and fell. He laughed, but soon that led to a mouthful of snow as Eevana began shoveling snow on his fallen form and pelting him with the snowballs she had made while he hadn't been paying attention. He coughed around his mouthful of slowly melting cold, and almost choked on his chuckles. He flailed his limbs, trying to kick the snow off of himself, and eventually he managed to sit up with a jerk, flicking snow off of his torso and towards her. He had snow under his gloves and it was extremely cold, but he couldn't help but his glee. She smiled at him, glaring, and lunged forward to pull his hat over his eyes, her hair speckled with snow. "Jeez, you--" he started, but broke off as he felt another shove, this time on his side, forcing him to roll down the slight slope they were on. But he wasn't going down alone. He swiftly wrapped an arm around what he thought had to have been her waist, and the two tumbled in a mess of snow and black robes and tangled limbs, laughing even as they bonked elbows and chins against the cold snowy ground. Shaking the snow off of his gloves and disentangling his arms from Eevana, Nofalo reached up to finally fix his hat. It had slipped a bit, and now he was sure he had snow in his socks. "You, you really want me to get hypothermia today, don't you?" he asked, giggling and panting, referring to her relentless attacks. Sure, he usually got the sneak attack on her, but when she did she sure wouldn't let him forget it! He missed this. He'd always loved snow, but it was so much more magical reflected in his best friend's eyes, green-gold like a Christmas tree adorned with shining lights.

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Breathless, she rolled on her back, spread out on the churned snow next to Nofalo. Her face was pink from the cold, and almost sore from smiling so much. She gazed over at him, lifting a gloved hand to brush snow off her forehead and adjust her hat, which had nearly slipped off during the tumble. Pulling on a slightly awed and mock hurt face, she pouted at him. "How could you suggest such a terrible thing?" Her voice was high-pitched as she tried not to break into a smile. "I just thought you could use some extra snow..here," Eevana grasped a clump and let it splatter over his robes, "and here," Another on his chest, "and here!" Packing some over his hat. Now smiling again, she sat up, once more dusting snow off her long robes. She ducked away from a handful of snow tossed by Nofalo, lifting a hand to guard herself. The fifteen-year-old drew her braid around, seeing that it was ruffled and messy, hairs sticking out everywhere. She tightened the hairtie and then jumped to her feet, doing a quick dance to shake more snow off. Using a nearby tree stump for balance, she took off one boot and shook snow out. Replacing the shoe, she sat down on the stump and huffed, scanning over the fields of white as if calculating something. With an eager chirrup, she bounced again to her feet and skipped through the snow, heading towards a smooth patch that had been yet untouched by playing children. Pausing, she bent and began to roll snow together to form a large sphere.

He tried to swat the incoming snow away, but of course that did no good. He swiped his hat off all the way to shake the packed snow from it, and shook his head like a dog--excuse the irony--to get rid of the cold white flakes that had caught in his hair. He stayed sitting as he took off one boot, then the other, shaking the snow from them as best he could, before pulling them back on. He looked up to see Eevana busy creating the beginnings of a snowman. The Slytherin boy rose to join her, dusting off his robe and fixing his gloves. He helped add little bits of snow into the areas where some had fallen, and patted the sphere so that it packed better, and things went even smoother once their snowman ball got big enough for Eevana to just roll it. They made it large, and eventually Nofalo joined her in pushing their snow ball, leaving a rut behind them where the snow had been collected. Eevana finally rolled it to the position she wanted, and the two set off to create the next parts of the body of their creation. "Hey, are we just making a regular snowman?" he asked her, keeping his eyes on his snowball as he tried to pack it well, "'cause I bet we could steal a scarf from some first-year or something," he plotted, glancing over his shoulder at his friend, "that one Ravenclaw kid, uhh...I forget his name..I think he fancies you," Nofalo laughed, jerking his head in the direction of a little group of first years laughing as they tried to use little beginner charms to build their own snowman, but were failing pretty miserably at it, though that didn't seem to dampen their spirits in the slightest. "Isn't that him over there? Wouldn't take long," Nofalo was being mean, but that was the way of things! Merlin knows they got picked on by upperclassmen too just for being first-years--it was all in good fun!

[ snowman balls ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) ]

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Gently tapping the well-formed sphere, she trudged off, intent on creating the second ball for the snowman's midsection. Bending to begin rolling it into shape, she became momentarily distracted, and it was only til she heard Nofalo's voice that she snapped to attention. Pausing, she straightened up. She was just pondering what he meant by a non-regular snowman when he mentioned stealing. Not that she was super against that sort of thing - hanging around with the Slytherin boy had given her a more disobedient flare. Following his gaze to the gaggle of eager first-years, she squinted slightly. Her eyes locked back on her friend and she blushed at his words, crossing her arms over her chest. She kicked a clump of snow towards Nofalo, but then glanced towards the younger students again. Yeah, she recognized most of them. Including the one with pale brown hair and a considerable amount of freckles - he'd approached her more than once, and she'd never been quite sure why. For various reasons; homework help, directions, this and that. She wrinkled her nose and frowned. "Yeah, his name's Chris, I think." She turned back to her best friend. "What am I supposed to do, go up and grab a scarf?" She lifted a brow, bending to fix the snow ball she'd been rolling and finishing it up, then placing it neatly atop the base one.

"Yeah, just like, I dunno, call him apart from the group or something. It'll be the highlight of his week, trust me," he winked at his friend, who still looked unsure and frowned at him. "Come on, what first-year kid wouldn't die to be acknowledged out-of-the-blue by his favourite cute and intelligent upperclassman?" he teased, sticking his tongue out, though he was serious. He thought he saw Eevana roll her eyes at him in the dimming light, and he snickered. Honestly he kind of wanted to see what she looked like in a Slytherin green scarf. It would probably match her eyes. Cheeks red from the cold and other things, Nofalo rose from where he was finishing up the top snowman piece, the head, matching it to the bottom and the middle that Eevana created so that it was maybe a little less than half the size of the first sphere. He hefted it with a grunt--he was thin, too thin according to his worry-wort of a mother, but he liked to believe he was stronger than he looked. Nofalo carried the snowball that was probably at least two times thicker than he was over to the rest of the dismantled snowman pieces, being careful that it kept its smooth, round shape with now chunks of snow falling off in transport. Dusting his gloves off, he helped Eevana lift the middle part of their snowman onto the bottom sphere, packing around the joint so that it was secure enough, before doing the same with the head. "Now," the Slytherin boy stepped back, hands on his hips as he smiled at his friend, "How 'bout that scarf?" he voiced, smile rising into more of a smirk as he waited to see Eevana's answer.

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She did indeed roll her hazel eyes, turning slightly as she circled the growing snowman, adding in bits to steady it too. She straightened once both the middle part and the top piece were successfully set, and took a step back to admire the work so far. She knew they could have used magic to roll and shape the snow, but where was the fun in that? Satisfied, she glanced around to see if there were possible branches to use as arms when she heard Nofalo again. Turning towards him, she mocked his posture, hands on her own hips and brow lifted. She hesitated, then huffed out a great breath. "Fine," Eevana marched forwards, though she gave her friend a look over her shoulder. "Don't mess him up while I'm gone," she warned, nodding to the faceless snowman.

She trudged quietly through more unbroken snow, nervously twisting her gloved hands against her abdomen. As she neared, she could hear the kids shouting and laughing, and see their rather unsuccessful attempts at magicking snow around. Nonetheless, they seemed to be enjoying themselves. Each one wore their traditional scarf, but Eevana's target was the boy her best friend had mentioned. She felt a bit mean to be taking advantage of him, but it wasn't enough to stop her. Besides, they had noticed her now. Their wands fell limp and the flying snow sprayed down. They seemed to think they were in trouble of sorts, and Eevana felt a rush of bossy smugness. However, she fondly recalled her own days as a first-year.

"Hi," she breathed, brushing strands of hair out of her eyes. She could see Chris in the back, his head down, feet shuffling the snow.

"We weren't doing anything wrong, I swear!" One of the other boys spoke up, almost indignantly. The others chimed in, and Eevana frowned, shaking her head.

"I'm not hear to tell you off," she assured. "I just need a favor." The first-years now looked confused. Eevana stepped cautiously forwards, her green eyes fixing on the boy in the back. "Chris? May I ask you something?"

The mentioned kid stiffened, his head shooting up and his eyes wide. His cheeks were flushed, perhaps from more than just the cold. Silently he approached, and Eevana smiled sweetly. "Y-yes?" The boy asked, wearing a nearly awestruck face. His classmates watched in bewildered silence.

"Might I borrow your scarf for a bit? I'm building a snowman, you see, and I want to add some flourish to it. Mine and my friend's are just too tattered." The blond-haired girl simpered, surprised at how easy this was. It almost sickened her, and yet she felt weirdly pleased. "Please?" she finished, blinking a few times.

Chris lifted his hands and unwound his scarf, giving a slow nod. He handed it over, and she took it carefully, feeling her hands just brush his own. He backed away, then, and so did Eevana. "Thank you," She finished, smiling broadly. "I'll have it back in no time." With that, she turned and began striding back towards Nofalo and their snowman, stepping in her previous tracks to aide her pace. She found she was smirking slightly, and hurried on.

Nofalo watched as she walked away, leaning lightly against their snowman as he patted a few of the weaker spots with more snow to hold it together. Before long, she came back with the first-year boy's scarf in tow. "Wasn't so bad, huh?" he smiled as she threw the scarf at him with a huff and a poorly concealed smile. Nofalo caught the ends and lunged forward, flicking the scarf around her neck, pulling her to face him by tugging the ends still in his hands just a little. She glared at him, a 'what-are-you-doing-now' type of glare, and Nofalo smiled. "Knew it. You had fun with that. Are you sure you weren't sorted into the wrong House?" he asked jokingly as he stepped around her to unwind the scarf from her neck, reaching their snowman and this time throwing the garment around it's cold, large, snowy shoulders. It was starting to look more like a snowman even with that little accent, but they did need some stones and twigs to add arms and facial features. Just as he finished adjusting the scarf, he was surprised by a cold, wet something whump against the back of his neck. Gloved hand flying to the slush now running down his shoulderblades, he turned and tried to glare at his friend, to no great avail. The Slytherin boy trotted through the snow to a tree nearby, hoping to scrounge for some stones and small sticks at it's base where the snow wasn't as thick. He had some luck, and Eevana had enough to finish the job, so the two set to work putting the final touches on their first snowman together of their fifth year.

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She dusted her hands in satisfaction, watching as he turned around to send her a glare. She only smiled innocently in return, before turning on her heels and grabbing a tuft of frozen ferns to place on the snowman's head, to give it a goofy look. Nofalo had gone to collect other add-ons, and as he returned she helped him give the thing eyes and buttons and a mouth. After a few minutes, the snowman looked quite nice. Eevana trudged back, tipping her head from one side to another to admire it from various angles. She glanced to her friend, blinking the question. He gave a nod and a broad smile, which she returned. "Now what?" She asked, staring back at their creation. She remembered last year, when they'd practiced various spells on one of their snowmen until it was reduced to wet mush. She recalled an earlier episode where they'd simply bombarded it with stones and then kicked it down. She turned to Nofalo again, before dropping down and leaning back on the snow, using her robe as a cushion.

Nofalo breathed out a sigh, watching as his warm breath mingled with the chilly winter air, billowing before him like mist. Eevana settled down in the soft snow. He crouched beside her, resting his elbows on his knees. "I wonder how hard you'd have to flirt to see if we could magic that kid into the snowman..." he mused, then flicked his eyes to meet Eevana's unimpressed but smiling expression. He huffed and leaned back, his shoulder brushing hers. The smile gently faded from his face, and he looked at the glistening snow between his shoes while he spoke a little quieter, "How's the potion going?" It was obvious what he was referring to. Eevana had been working on the potion for a long time, as excited as she'd ever been. Nofalo remembered the day, four years ago, when they had been in the library and she had confessed to him her desire to become an Animagus. She had never faltered in that wish. He himself still felt a bit...strange about it. He felt that he couldn't fully support it, not when he would envy so fully her ability to transform whenever she wanted, into whatever she wanted, without fear that she would hurt anyone. She could run about, go anywhere as an animal, while he...he would be somewhere dark and alone, and far too strong than he ever wanted to be. With all that said, however, Nofalo wouldn't dare push his insecurities and struggles onto his friend. He never wanted that. Eevana had been so excited about this, for so long. Her eyes lit up whenever she talked about it, even in whispers if there were professors or other students nearby. He wanted her eyes to light up like that every time she looked at him, and he never wanted it to go away.

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His comment brought a funny feeling to her chest. Flirting? Was that what it had been? Or was he just speculating? Eevana felt her cheeks redden slightly, but she merely gave him a look, one brow quirked high. A soft breath was exhaled. The weight of her friend against her, only subtle, was weirdly noticeable. In the recent months she'd become more - sensitive, perhaps - to where Nofalo was, how close he got to her. She didn't like to think on it much; it was confusing and distracting, to say the least. Her eyes flicked across the snowy landscape, briefly lacking focus til she heard his voice again.
Her thoughts whirled with memories of her latest project: creating an Animagus potion. A challenging adventure - it had given her much strife, that was for certain. But she was intent on success. It was not impossible. The consequences of messing up were grim, and at times she was hesitant. In some ways she was much more afraid of being caught making the potion than of doing it wrong. Or both; what if she turned into some freak half-furred beast and was on the front page of the Daily Prophet? That was the worst case scenario. Highly unlikely, she told herself. Aside from that internal conflict, she knew Nofalo was not a fan of her choice, but he was supportive nonetheless. She appreciated that more than she could say. And again she wondered of him; flipped through various hunches her mind had created. She tried not to dwell much, of course. But curiosity was difficult to sate at times.
"It's going," She murmured, dusting snow off her boots with lazy flicks. "I only need the dew and the chrysalis." Eevana's gaze narrowed with fervent concentration. She glanced over to him, a slight half-smile curling her lips. "Perhaps this weekend we can stroll into the Forest?" A glint lit her eyes.

He smiled at her, narrowing his eyes mischievously. "Just say the word," he hoped there would be less snow cover in the woods. There probably would be--the trees were so dense. That made it the perfect place to get the dew she required--untouched by sunlight or man for at least seven days. The chrysalis would probably be pretty easy to spot if they could find one. They were large, red, and gave one a somewhat unnerving feeling. He didn't know how he felt about something called 'Death-head' being in a potion she was going to ingest that would permanently alter her in one way or another--hopefully the way she wanted. He had no doubt that she could perform the brew perfectly. She was always detail-prone, and she had studied this and looked into it even as a hobby for years. He simply...worried. She was his only friend. She showed him the best parts of being a kid again. He huffed, getting himself off the train of thought, and bumped his shoulder into her lightly before he stood, offering her his hand. "We should probably get that kid's scarf back to him before he gets his hopes up that you're gonna wear it, like you're a couple," he sighed. The weekend couldn't come soon enough. He was tired. The full moon was soon, and he was already feeling restless, especially at night. He hadn't been sleeping well, again. He hoped Eevana didn't notice. He tried to keep his energy level up when he was around her, but sometimes it got hard. Everything did. Unless she was with him. Nofalo let out a gentle breath, unnoticed, when she grasped his hand to let him pull her up.

{if you wanna skip to the weekend after this that's fine !!!! <3 up to uuuuuuuuu }

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The pair had been in the Forbidden Forest quite a few times - far more than they should, considering it was forbidden. Nonetheless, they'd survived it so far - the worst they'd seen had been a patrol of giant spiders. Not that that hadn't been a mess to deal with, of course. That section of the woods was best avoided. Nofalo's affirmation made her stomach somersault - mostly from excitement. She flexed her gloved hands and stared at their snowman for a time, debating ridiculous methods to topple it. However, her friend's voice soon broke through her thoughts again, and she snapped her gaze around. "Oh!" A slight flush crept over her face. She hoisted herself upwards, dusting snow off her robes, and marched over to the snowman. Carefully she unwound the scarf and with a glance to Nofalo, hurried back towards the gaggle of younger kids.

- skip to da weekend -

She pulled her bronze and blue hat over her head and looked in the mirror, carefully holding her wand out to project light. She hadn't wanted to turn the main lights on, for the other girls were asleep. Satisfied that her outfit was well-set for a day outside in the cold, she whispered, "Nox," to her wand and turned to walk to the door. She stepped quietly down the staircase, boots tapping soflty on the wood. Eevana tucked her wand inside her coat and peered into the common room. Not a single person - which was almost surprising. It seemed like there was always someone in the common room, every minute of each day. But then again, it was the weekend, and Eevana wasn't usually up quite this early on a Saturday. She walked through the arrangement of chairs and tables to the entrance, then pushed open the door and stepped into the stairway, boots clicking louder on the stone floor. Eevana exhaled and made to trot down the spiraling stars of Ravenclaw tower. It didn't take her long to arrive outside the Great Hall. She checked her watch, leaning against the wall. 6:36. They'd planned to meet at seven. Eevana tended to be overly careful when it came to being on time. Sighing, she slid down to sit and propped her knees up. The blonde pulled her wand out of her jacket and began aimlessly creating intricate patterns in a cobweb to her left.  

Nofalo woke to a jarring noise in his head. He blinked his eyes repeatedly, until the buzzing went away. He'd set an alarm charm on himself the night before to make sure he woke up in time. Gathering his tossed position on the bed--he was laying diagonally across it, arms splayed and blankets tangled in a mess around his legs. Another restless night. Though honestly, he ended up this way half the time when he was comfortable where he was and DID sleep well. Meaning, not at home. The boy rose, disentangling himself, and readied for the day's trek into the Forbidden Forest. It would be a long day of searching and hopefully of brewing, so then they could be done of this. Once he deemed his appearance worthy enough of a day spent in the forest with his best friend, he trotted through the common room and out of the stony corridor towards the Great Hall.

It was almost 6:45 when he arrived. He wanted to be there early, since he knew that Eevana would be there early, regardless of when they'd decided to meet. Sure enough, as he turned the corner, she was stooped down by the archway of the grand Great Hall entrance. He neared her, offering a slightly-squished croissant from his robe pocket, "Morning," Nofalo smirked, still waking up himself. He'd smuggled two croissants from the Great Hall yesterday, since he knew they'd be up early the next morning, too early for breakfast on a weekend. He did his best to stifle a yawn and munched on his breakfast, still nice and flaky and pretty tasty to his hungry stomach.

They snuck lightly through the castle, heading towards the Forest in a roundabout way once they reached the Grounds, just in case any eyes were following them. They'd done this plenty of times to know their route without getting confused. "So,
any idea where we're going for this?" he mumbled around the last buttery pieces of bread, sure she'd looked up time and again the most likely places to find what she needed for the finishing touches of the potion. Luckily too, it was supposed to storm either later today or sometime in the next week or so. If he remembered correctly, that was the last item on the docket. He just hoped it wasn't on the night of the full moon. He wanted to be there when she took the potion, just in case. He'd been there for most all of it so far--they were pretty much always together anyway. It's just what they did.

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Eevana wasn't waiting for long. She stiffened at the sound of footsteps, hoping fervently it was her friend and not someone else. Of course,
it was Nofalo who appeared around the corner, dressed for an adventure like she was. She couldn't help but smile at the sight of him; heartbeat increasing with what she presumed was excitement for their expedition into the Forest. Putting her wand away, she got to her feet and stretched. She gently took the small pastry, one brow quirked at his forethought. "Good morning," She said, straightening up and lightly dusting off her robes and coat. Happily she nibbled on the croissant as they began to walk together, departing the castle and out into the snowy morning.

Her boots crunched softly on the soil, which was damp with plenty of morning dew. Licking butter off her fingers, she scanned over the hillside, across to the dark line where the trees began. Her nose scrunched as she heard Nofalo speak. The blonde flexed her hands, shoving her right one in the pocket on the same side. "Not...exactly." She mumbled, pulling out her thinner gloves and neatly sliding them on each hand. She glanced to her companion, expression thoughtful. "I mean, the dew should be easy enough, but it might take a bit of squinting around to find the Death's Head chrysalis." She tucked a strand of hair behind one ear. Eevana looked over her shoulder at the castle for a moment, which was partly out of sight now due to their roundabout path. The sky was dim; the sun not yet up, but there was enough faint light to move around without lighting their wands. The edge of the woods grew nearer and nearer, a familiar yet still threatening view.

[ coughs because i changed it to sort of early spring because i realized if it was snowy there'd be no dew because water would freeze and also insects usually aren't around during winter riP so i hope thats ok lol
also im too lazy to do all the things plus they can be cute together if we play it out 8) if u wanna ]

[ah it fine !!! y eah i was thinkin bout that.... x'D we can just pretend that like between them making the snowman and them goin out to do this was a few months, like we can say that she needed the mandrake leaf in her mouth for a lil longer or somethin]

He nodded, following her lead. She had more of an eye for things like this, detail-oriented things. They crossed from the safety of Hogwarts Grounds into the Forbidden Forest, the canopy of the trees immediately making everything a bit darker than before, the morning light not reaching this far down. The grass was dripping with dew, and soon the hems of their robes were soaked dark with the wetness. They needed dew from far into the forest though, where no man and no sunlight could reach. Hopefully not too far. Professor Adelaide Thickley, the Care of Magical Creatures professor and therefore the one who spent the most times caring for the Grounds and even trekking through the Forbidden Forest, most commonly went around the same route every week. Of course she knew the woods well, but so did Nofalo and Eevana, for all of their escapades into it. They knew where she had likely been in the past seven days, so it wouldn't be too hard to find the right spot. The woods were so very still this early in the morning, the most peaceful of creatures still resting after a night in their woodland home. He hoped they wouldn't find any of the less peaceful creatures that earned the Forbidden Forest it's name.

Nofalo's messy haystack of a bedhead began dripping into his face after one too many giant droplets slithered off the leaves above to splat onto his head, and he huffed as he pushed the strand away from his eyes. Of course, straight after, Nofalo tripped over a particularly gnarled root, stumbling forward. He instinctively grabbed out in front of him, clasping onto Eevana's wrist when she turned back. "This bloody forest always puts me on edge," he complained irritably. In his defense, he was starting to not feel well. Tomorrow marked exactly a week before the full moon. And, it wasn't a lie. This dark, expansive forest was intriguing and beautiful and terrifying all at once, and he treasured the memories he had here as well as the rest of Hogwarts with Eevana, but the place always reminded him of beasts, and of being a beast. He realised with a start that he was still holding Eevana's wrist, and quickly flicked his eyes to hers, a stammered apology on his lips and his face already flushing with embarrassment, when they heard a rustle from nearby. Freezing, Nofalo's grip on his friend tightened, and he reflexively stepped partially in front of her to face the direction of the noise, free hand brushing the handle of his wand in his pocket. The students waited with baited breath. Finally, the leaves rustled again and a furry face pushed out of the twiggy underbrush. Nofalo sighed in annoyance, dropping his hands to his sides, while Eevana tensed with glee. The young wolf's tongue lolled out of it's mouth at the sight of them, deep brown fur slick as silk and gleaming golden eyes regarding them with nearly human intelligence. She trotted over to them, bee-lining straight for Nofalo as always. She nosed at his hand, persuading him to pat her head as she looked up at him with welcoming eyes. He humoured her with a quick pat then pushed her away with a grunt. "It's you." he said, unamused. She almost always came when he was in the woods, especially if it was close to the full moon. He hated it. She was sweet and it definitely made them feel a little safer wandering the woods with a young, though quite large and strong, wolf trotting along with them, but even her presence reminded him. Eevana, of course, adored her. And the she-wolf liked Eevana. That also annoyed him. He watched with a painfully obvious disgruntled expression as his best friend and the wolf greeted each other.

[lol just nof: "its you -_-" eev: "itS YOU *w*" is what i pictured x'''''D i had to]

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It was quiet, eerily so. Yet Eevana was not frightened, or at least, not as much as she once had been. The Forest was always rather still, unless one ran into danger. It was definitely not just any old wood, that was certain. The blonde-haired girl trod ahead with careful intrigue, her eyes flicking this way and that. Her friend, on the other hand, seemed to be less cautionary, as his sudden trip found Eevana acting as a support. She glanced back at him, clicking her tongue and slowing her steps. Though he'd recovered, his hand still grasped hers. She said not a word, though felt a flutter in her chest. Only moments later Nofalo realized this himself, but his hasty apologies were interrupted by a crackling noise from the thicket around them. Eevana went rigid, her free hand flying instinctively towards the pocket of her coat where she'd stuck her wand. Her companion had stepped ahead, and had not released her. She was conflicted over the protectiveness; it was very warming and pleasing but her prouder side was a tad indignant. The latter was superficial, however: she definitely liked it.

The appearance of a familiar canid beast turned Eevana's alarm into delight. She gave a silent gasp and relaxed the arm that had reached for her wand. Her eyes trailed over as the beautiful wolf greeted Nofalo - a little jealous that he was the favorite - then lifted upwards to give a weak smile towards the boy himself. He was hardly fond of the wolf; another gear in the machinery of his mystery. His unhappiness marred her own joy. She struggled to find words, but then the she-wolf was nudging at her arm, and she hastened to stroke the soft brown fur. Brilliant, intelligent eyes met her own, and she felt a rush of sorrow. She was well aware this was no ordinary wolf, and it only strengthened her puzzled curiosity. Eevana rubbed the canine's ears for a second, cooing under her breath. Then she straightened, gaze shifting back to her fellow student. Words hovered on her tongue, but instead she sighed and made to keep walking. The wolf was likely to accompany them, as she did nearly every time she appeared. Eevana squinted into the gloom, pushing strands of golden hair out of her eyes as she resumed her search.

[ omg yES pERFECT xD ]

The she-wolf trotted along beside them, weaving easily through the humongous roots and fallen leaves. After a while, they stopped by a particularly gnarled root, deep in the woods. It was probably getting closer to breakfast time now, but it was darker than ever in the forest. Eevana withdrew something to collect the dew with from her cloak, and Nofalo sat down on the raised wood to stay out of her way as she carefully harvested the dew. The wolf stepped over to sit beside him, tail flopping gently on the grass by her feet. Nofalo was preoccupied watching Eevana, as he often was. She was gently trying to coax the dew without touching it into what she'd brought, when a furred head plopped onto Nofalo's knee and diverted his attention, a long pink tongue drooling onto his robes.

The wolf looked up at him with teasing, but understanding eyes. Nofalo sighed, raising a hand to her cheek. He would never admit it, but he did feel some kinship with this wolf. He knew what she was, somehow, without ever being told. He understood. She didn't ask to be like this--an outcast from wolves and from werewolves. Strangely worded greetings and wary glances from adults. But Eevana was different. Every now and then he caught her looking at him with a curious expression in her eyes, often when he came back with a new scratch that wouldn't heal without scarring, or when he was sick every month like clockwork. But she was always his friend, she never treated him any different despite his scars. He was self conscious of them, but sometimes being with her made him forget his marred body.

Eevana finished her work and made her way back over to him, plopping down on the root beside him. "Success?" he asked, looking at her, and she in response waved the instrument with a few tiny droplets in it, smiling. Her gaze lingered on him for a second, and switched between him and the wolf who he was absentmindedly petting while she leaned most all of her weight into his leg. "I swear it's not what it looks like. She's just insufferable." he put on his best bored tone, watching the drool spots on his pants spread with something akin to disgust. He looked back over to see Eevana fiddling with the her collected specimen, twisting it around in her hand.

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She stared fervently at the small vial, turning it this way and that. The droplet of dew looked no different than any other droplet she'd seen before, and she hoped that it was what she needed. It had to be - the location was exactly as described; no sunlight could reach it and the chances of a human peering down to look were incredibly small. Eevana studied it a few moments longer, then carefully tucked it away into an internal pocket of her coat. She could feel the subtle weight against her chest; like a precious treasure above her beating heart.

The Ravenclaw student brushed back a strand of hair as she turned towards her friends, both boy and wolf together. The latter was still splayed against Nofalo, obviously quite aware of his irritation and all the more happy to provoke it in gentle ways. A soft smile touched Eevana's lips as she lowered her hands, eyes drifting to meet those of her fellow human. "Nofalo," She started, the use of his full name hinting the seriousness of what she readied herself to say. "Are you sure you won't join me?" Her head tipped ever so slightly. She was certain he would know exactly what she meant. Her breath fluttered in her chest, and her fingers felt colder than before. She'd prompted him many a time before, but this was the final offer. She had to make absolute sure. Part of her was pained and hurt that he'd been so heavy about the subject, but she also understood that he had some reason for his ways.

If only she knew why.

The boy stopped his petting of the wolf at the use of his entire first name, locking his eyes on his friend. Once the question passed her lips though, his gaze dropped to his shoes as he rested his forearms against his thighs, leaning down a little. He felt guilty. He knew she wanted to share this experience with him. He looked her in the eyes again, trying to convey sincerity and to gauge her reactions. "I would I just! I...I don't think I can," his voice quieted, and he absentmindedly almost reached to touch his most recent scar. He averted his eyes again. "I would do it, for you, in a heartbeat. I just...can't." He sighed, frustrated and upset with himself. At times like these he really wished he could tell her. Now more than he'd ever felt before. This was one of her life aspirations! They had been friends for years, and he couldn't even give her a good reason as to why he wasn't with her every step of the way. "I'm sorry. I...want to tell you why..." his voice was almost a whisper now, then he raised it again as he looked at her to smile in spite of himself, "I'm a bloody awful friend, aren't I?"

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She'd already known what his reply would be, but hearing it again still sent a pang of disappointment through her heart. Eevana stared down at him, posture frozen in place, even her chest barely rising with each breath. She could see easily how he was conflicted, and it pained her even more. Not knowing and not being able to was near agonizing. Her gaze finally moved, lowering to the forest floor by the paws of the brown she-wolf. Her breath came out slowly, and she let her shoulders slump, though not in one heavy motion. Her tongue felt heavy. She didn't know how to voice her thoughts; so jumbled and wild they were.

Then his voice rose, and the statement made her gut clench. Instantly she looked up, eyes flown wide. She put one foot forwards in a nervous step, and the wolf moved almost before she'd placed her boot upon the soil. The girl didn't let her eyes tear from Nofalo's features. She closed the short distance, seated herself on the root next to him, and leaned to wrap her arms around the boy, perhaps tighter than she'd meant to. She breathed in, shutting her eyes. "You are not an awful friend. You are my best friend." She whispered fiercely. After a moment she pulled back, cheeks flushed with intensity of her emotion. Her heart raced, the realization of her actions bringing back a subtle awkwardness to her mannerisms.

"I trust you. You don't need to tell me. I won't make you do anything if you can't." She managed a crooked smile, one hand lifted to fidget with a strand of hair.

Nofalo tensed in surprise as Eevana's arms wrapped around him, his clenched fists relaxing at her touch. He couldn't remember the last time they'd hugged. Sure, they had as kids, but since they'd grown it hadn't happened as much. He knew it was because they had grown, but at the same time he'd missed it. It almost meant more now, than it did back then. He slid an arm around her waist, to return the embrace, managing to get a light squeeze in before she leaned away again. He mirrored her smile, and his eyes softened. He reached out towards her free hand, "...Thanks, Eev," he murmured back, wanted to give her small hand a squeeze in return for her hug, but just as his fingers almost brushed hers, he fell back off the root when a flash of brown fur tackled him in joy. He thudded against the forest ground with a cry, immediately muffled again by a furry elbow smashing into his cheek. "I was talking--pleh! phoof!--I was talking to her, not you!" he grumbled, trying to push the she-wolf off of him while getting mouthfuls of fur. The she wolf had obviously meant to take them both down with her, but had only managed to flail into Nofalo and was currently scrabbling all over his stomach to reach Eevana as well. Nofalo's hand raised to his head as he sat up, his headache having returned after being gone for the past few minutes without him realising it. He pushed himself up as the beast viciously attacked Eevana with numerous kisses. "Alright alright, we get it, we've still got a chrysalis to find," he monotoned, stepping over to help Eevana stave off the saliva attacks.

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She couldn't help but blush slightly, meeting his soft eyes and feeling her heart thump louder in her chest. The slight touch to her hand made her look down, but in a second the contact was broken by the she-wolf's interruption. Eevana gave a gasp of surprise, jumping slightly, and stared with wide eyes down at Nofalo, who struggled beneath the affectionate canine. The blonde relaxed and snickered softly, swinging her legs over the other side of the root. The brown she-wolf was already scrambling over towards her, tail a blur with happiness. Eevana squealed as the wolf leaped up, propping forelimbs over her shoulders and reaching to lick at her face. Her weight was far too much for the Ravenclaw girl. She fell back against the tree, arms lifted up to push off the insistent animal. "Okay, agh, please!" Eev complained in good nature, managing to sit straight and find her legs. She stood up as Nofalo gently pushed the she-wolf away, brushing soil and bits of bark off her robes and jacket.

"Thanks." She gave him a slight smile and brushed her now tangled hair away from her face. Back to the task. One hand patted over her coat where she'd stowed the dew, satisfied to feel the vial still in place. Then she stepped around the root and peered into the dark woods, expression scrunched in thought. Beckoning to Nofalo, she trod along the path again, pulling out her wand and lighting it with a quite murmur.